Black Blood
by Teh Trickster
Summary: After being released from a mental hospital, Hatsuharu Sohma is accepted into Cross Academy. He hopes to find out exactly why he ended up being in the mental hospital in the first place. A Fruits Basket Crossover Fic
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! Yep, a new story from me! This is the first Crossover fic that I've done actually, so apologies if I've done anything wrong. Also, I've only just started on Vampire Knight so I may not know as much as you people, so please be patient with me, okay? Thanks!**

**I'll be putting this in the Fruits Basket section first, because this chapter focuses more on Fruits Basket characters. However, when the story moves to Vampire Knight, I'll move it to the fandom there.**

**How did this story come about? Well, I was reading Vampire Knight, and it struck me that Akatzuki Kain (my favorites Vampire Knight character) kind of reminded me of Hatsuharu Sohma. Then, I though, what would happen if Haru was put in Cross Academy? The rest, like they say, is history.**

**I really have to thank Knack for this. I was nervous about putting this up, and he/she was the one who encouraged me to do this in the first place. So to Knack, thanks a lot! This first chapter is dedicated to you, by the way, so hope you like it!**

**Oh yes, disclaimer. None of these characters belong to me; they belong to Natsuki Takaya and the mangaka of Vampire Knight, whom I can't remember at the moment.**

**Well, without further ado, here's chapter one, of Displacement. Displacement is only a working title anyway; I'll be changing it very soon.**

Chapter 1

Hatsuharu Sohma jerked awake with a yell, pushing himself upright with his hands. Sweat beaded on his forehead and on his body, drenching the white collared, cotton shirt that he was wearing, the standard . . . clothes of the place he was staying in. It was like a uniform really, somewhat similar to the uniform he wore in high school, except that the shirt and pants were completely white, much like his room, and almost everything in it.

Haru sighed with relief, it was only a dream. However, it was a rather bad one. Once again, it was of the usual dreams he had, himself in some sort of dark place, lying flat on the ground, in some kind of box. Yet, he could never remember why it was so terrible in the first place, why it would force him awake with a yell and practically drenched in sweat, trembling almost uncontrollably. He shrugged and began folding his blanket, only to straighten it out when he realized that the edges were not straight. He kept doing the motions over and over again, wondering vaguely why he cared so much for his blanket in the first place. He was just starting on his fifth attempt when he heard the sound of a key turning in a lock.

He turned to face the door, and saw one of the workers standing there, in his white work shirt and pants, very different to his own except that it looked somewhat like the uniform of a policeman, but white in color, holding a tray. Without a word, he placed the tray on the table nearby and withdrew. Haru heard him locking the door a few seconds later, before his footsteps receded.

He smelt something delicious, and turned to face the table. His stomach rumbled, and suddenly, he realized that he was indeed hungry. He walked to the table and looked down at the tray. It held a bowl of porridge, a rather large portion at that, flavored with seaweed and bonito flakes. His hand drifted down to the glass of hot brown liquid. Without really thinking, he lifted it to his lips and took a sip. It tasted like the powdered three-in-one hot chocolate that he used to drink at home.

At home . . . at those words, Haru realized that he was not really that hungry after all. He did not want to be here, alone, locked up in this place. Once again, for like the hundredth time, his eyes roamed around the room. It was rather small, around the size of the cage his cousin was trapped in. However, unlike the cage, this room was completely white in color and completely clean, even smelling strongly of cleaning solution. He knew that this room was cleaned once a week, during the time he was allowed out to 'play' for a few hours. It was a normal looking room, with a futon in one corner for sleep, and a small table at which he was kneeling now, for eating. He even had a few books and some drawing pads and pencils stacked in a cupboard. Those had been gifts from Hatori when he had first visited him, once month after he came to this place. Haru did read from time to time, but he preferred to draw, though he never showed anyone his work. He already finished half the pad and was planning to ask Hatori to bring another the next time he came.

Once again, he tried to recall why he was even here in the first place. All he knew was that one day, like what he did normally; he woke up, had his breakfast, and went to school. Something must have happened there, because he could not remember anything after that. Everything was blurred from then on until he blacked out, and then when he next woke up, he found himself curled up on a futon in a much smaller room than this, wearing a straitjacket. He wore the straightjacket for a week, before it was taken off for good behavior. Two months later, he was taken out of that tiny room, and placed in this room, where he remained ever since. He had been here for six months already, according to one of the doctors when he finally dared to post the question. Haru had been very surprised at this, he though he had been here far longer than that, it felt like he had been here for two years at least. He shrugged. It did not really matter; his life had already been ruined anyway, and it would be downright impossible to go back to his old life after . . . being in this place.

During that time, he would be taken out for questioning. During the initial stages, he would be taken out of his room practically every day, brought to one of the doctor's offices, and seated at one of the more comfortable chairs. Initially, they had cuffed his hands behind him, to the back of the chair, but more recently, they left his hands free. It had been a relief for him, since having his arms twisted behind his back for hours caused a weird, achy feeling in his shoulder, and he hated the feeling, much like he hated almost everything in this place. More recently though, he was taken out for questioning once a week instead of practically every day, and he guessed that maybe, it showed that he was improving.

He could barely even remember the questions he had been asked. All he knew was that he answered them as truthfully as he could, and the doctors would write them down on a sheet of paper, which would be filed and kept for later use. He did remember though, that the questions became easier to answer, and the interrogations were much shorter than what he remembered of the earlier months.

Haru sighed and began to eat the porridge. If he ate, then they would be convinced that he was better. He had been on his best behavior in this place; he never talked back no matter how much he wanted to, he never complained about anything. If he did not have anything to say, he would just keep quiet. He could sit quietly; he could keep his room neat. He could eat when they brought his meals. He kept most of his thoughts at bay so that he would not think anything that would get him to say stuff that would get him into trouble. On a whole, he was pretty well behaved after all. He smirked, if only Momiji and Kyo could see him now.

His mind drifted to the last time Hatori had visited. He always looked forward to Hatori's visits, because Hatori reminded him of home, he even smelt of home. Hatori remained the same every time he came over, with that straightforwardness, and somewhat sarcastic wit. In a world frequently upending him, at least he had Hatori to cling to, though he never dared to hold on to Hatori . . . it would be weird, for one. This time round, though, Hatori had less than thrilling news for him. He had sighed and shuffled his papers, and Haru instantly stiffened, knowing that when Hatori acted this way, it was always an ominous feeling.

Finally, Hatori looked straight at Haru. "The thing is," he said finally, "What with your record, it would be rather hard to find a new school for you to go to. The Kaibara High principal has already stated that it would be best that you did not return to that school."

Haru shrugged. "I guess that means I've been expelled then. It doesn't really matter anyway, since I'll probably be here for a long time."

"Yes, but you'll soon be leaving," Hatori told him, causing Haru to sit up and stare at him. "I just spoke to your doctors, and they say that you've been improving. You'll be able to leave in a two weeks time, it's just that they're still keeping you here for inspection."

"So what's going to happen to me?" Haru asked. "Will I still be able to do my high school diploma?" Did he dare to hope that he could still have a future?

At first, Hatori did not really answer. Then, he said, "Shigure is in the process of looking for a new school for you, but don't keep your hopes too high, we may not be able to find a place for you. You may have to go to a vocational institute to learn a trade. Or, you can do your diploma privately, though I'm not sure whether you'll be able to pass if you did that."

At that moment, the attendants came in, and Hatori stood up. "I have to go now, but I'll be visiting in a weeks time. Hopefully, I'll have results for you. Take care of yourself, and behave," and with that, he placed a hand on Haru's shoulder, gave it a gentle squeeze, and walked out of the room. The 'behave', of course, had been emphasized. After all, Haru did know that nobody really would want a nutcase as a relative, least of all, the Sohmas. They could not afford to with their status.

Haru had no idea how he had managed to leave the room, but somehow, he had wound up in his own room, curled up on his futon. He would probably have to go to a vocational institute. Either way, he would never get to do his diploma; he would never get to University after all. He was the cow; it was not possible for him to study for his diploma privately. His cousins were too busy with their own studies. Rin would want to help, of course, but she never really was good at her studies. Kyo would be willing to help as well, except that Haru himself would probably would not even be allowed to visit him. Kyo's future was even more hopeless than Haru's would ever be. Haru was lucky compared to Kyo, Haru had ingrained into himself that no matter what, there would always be someone unluckier that himself, and hence, he would not complain. He was lucky, after all.

Hatori would be coming again that day anyway; maybe Hatori would have better news. Haru finished his breakfast, pushed the tray aside, and pulled down his sketchpad and pencils. He had no idea how long time passed before his door opened again and the attendants came in. He sighed, stood up, pushed his sketch of Rin back onto his shelf and followed the attendants out of his room.

Once again, the guards took Haru to that same room where he met Hatori. To his surprise, not only was Hatori there, Shigure was there as well, with that stupid, I'm-so-pleased-with-myself grin on his face. Haru sat down next to Hatori again, and waited until the attendants left. He could not help feeling relieved at seeing Shigure, at least there were other family members who might have cared for him other than the everlasting Hatori, who always had to be there if it was something to with well-being.

Even Hatori looked more relaxed. Or at least, he was not fidgeting like he was last week. The moment the attendants left, he looked straight at Haru. "We've managed to find a school that would accept you."

Haru's eyes widened and he sat up straighter. "Really? Where is it?"

Hatori glanced over at Shigure. "Shigure's old University professor set up a new school ten years back, and Shigure managed to find his old contact and called him. He explained our predicament," here, he gave Haru an unreadable look, and Haru flushed slightly. "And the Professor offered you a place in his school. However, you'll have to repeat your second year again, because you missed half of it."

Haru shrugged. "I don't mind, it'll give me a chance to catch up." Maybe, given the extra time, he would have the chance to actually study and do well. He flushed again, remembering Mayuko-sensei's comments on his work, no different than what his previous teachers always said about him.

Shigure pouted. "Hey, isn't anyone going to thank me?"

Hatori glared at him. "Do you mind? I'm trying to be serious here." He turned back to Haru. "You'll be leaving this place in a week's time, and you'll head straight there from here. I've gotten some of the housemaids to pack your belongings in a trunk, and we'll transport everything there."

"By the way," Shigure added. "It's a boarding school, so you'll be staying there until the holidays."

Haru blinked. "But what if something . . . happens?" he asked.

Hatori shrugged. "The doctors seem to have a good opinion of you, so we're pretty sure you'll behave yourself there." The frown on his face, however, seemed to go against that statement. "Anyway, Chairman Cross has offered to keep an eye on you for us."

Haru shrugged, but did not answer. To tell the truth, the idea of staying at a boarding school scared him. He had, of course, read stories about boarding schools, but he had never experienced it firsthand before. He bit his lip, he would have to get used to the place, then, that was all. No other school would take him in except this, and this was only possible because of Shigure's intervention. He desperately hoped that Black would not show up and ruin everything again. Black had not showed up for the past few months anyway, that was probably why they were confident of releasing him.

Then again, at least he had the chance to complete his High School diploma. The least he could do was to be thankful for that.

"Well," Hatori stood up and motioned to Shigure. "We have to go now, but we'll come in the morning to pick you up. Behave properly now, you're almost out of here already." He gave a wintry smile. "The school building is quite nice, the uniform as well. You should like it there."

Haru returned his smile and stood up. "Thank you," he said finally, and bowed. "I really appreciate your effort in helping me."

Shigure beamed at him. "No problem! It's at the other side of town, but quite near Rin's art college, so you should be able to meet up with her from time to time . . . if you want to. By the way, the school is called Cross Academy." And with that, he waved and left, whistling that stupid "High school girls" song of his.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi guys! Yay, my latest chapter! Sorry if this took somewhat longer than expected, because I kind of had an awful mental block, and I couldn't decide how I wanted to complete this. At the same time, I was also trying to complete the next chapter of my other story, "Past and Present". However, I was able to finish this, thank Heavens, and it's up for you guys to enjoy! Please read and review, okay? Thanks so much, and I really hope you guys like this!

I'm really sorry about replying to your reviews so late! Normally, I would reply to a review everytime I'm about to update, and that's why I'm only replying now. However, I would always make sure that I reply to every single review that you guys send.

alright, enough of my chatter, time to move on to . . . my latest chapter of "Black Blood"! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

The last week he spent in the mental hospital was somewhat different from the previous schedule. Every other day, he would be called out of his room to be interviewed by a doctor. Maybe his memory was improving, because this time round, he could actually remember what the doctors said to him. He remembered that they kept reminding him that he was soon to be released, and kept asking him how he felt about it, and what he meant to do once he was released. He also remembered being irritated by the frequent questions, but at least he had managed to keep his calm. Surprisingly, it seemed much easier now.

Yet Haru, in actual fact, was more nervous than excited. He had remained in that same room for months, and now, he was going to have to move out. Here, at least there was some form of schedule, and he felt a lot safer following it. Mealtimes, bath times, leisure, interviews, all were fixed, and Haru felt safe, because he knew exactly what was going on, and he felt secure with that knowledge. The world outside was a dangerous place, and at least in the hospital, he had some semblance of comfort, knowing that he was being protected from it.

However, this sense of security was soon to be ripped away from him, and he would be thrust out into the world without even the comfort of knowing what was going to happen. He knew that he was going to a boarding school named Cross Academy, but he did not know what to expect there, what the people were like, what the place was like. He had no idea of anything, except that he would be staying there to repeat his second year, so at least he would be able to understand half the work. He did not even know when the mealtimes were. He would be among complete strangers, because he did not know anybody from that place.

As much as he valued his sense of security, he knew that he could not stay in the mental hospital forever. He actually wanted to be out in the world, to see nature again, to have the freedom to wear his own clothes, to walk where he chose to go, instead of being confined in this small room, behind a locked door. When he had been outside, he had been thankful that he could go anywhere he chose, and at least, he would be able to enjoy that again. Yet, with freedom came responsibilities, and he was not sure whether he could deal with them.

Then again, Hatori and the doctors seemed to think he was ready, so maybe he was. He just did not feel ready, but that was probably normal. Everybody felt scared being faced with new circumstances, and him feeling this now probably showed that he was being back to normal, as opposed to the numb, mentally spent feeling he had for most of his stay.

He remembered his first night in the mental hospital. Even though everything had faded, leaving only a grey mist over most of his stay, he still remembered that one night very clearly, probably because it was one of the most tormenting times he had ever been through. He still remembered being strapped in that straightjacket. It was not tight enough to constrict his breathing, but he had barely been able to move his arms, being strapped against his sides. He remembered curling up on the mattress, making himself as small as possible, either sobbing relentlessly or screaming in rage. He had even turned black a few times, he could feel it, but he could not do anything about it. Black was completely uncontrollable when in control of him.

He was to leave on this very day. The day before, the attendants had given him a plastic, transparent box, and told him to pack everything he owned inside it. He had packed in his books and scrapbooks, leaving the half-filled one out, he desperately needed it to while away the time anyway, and prevent himself from thinking too much. That was what he did most of the time in the mental hospital anyway; he did not want Black to come storming in and once again, ruin everything. Now, he was sitting idly at the table, sketchbook on lap, playing with the pencil. He was in no mood to sketch, he was too apprehensive to work on his portrait of Rin, all he could think of was his worry and anticipation of what Cross Academy and it's people would be like. It would be different from Kaibara High, he knew, because Cross Academy was an elite school, and would probably have all the rich snobs there, whereas Kaibara High took in students from all walks of life. He was worried about the rich snobs, they were more likely to turn him Black than anything else.

He looked up at the doorway as it opened, and saw, to his surprise, Hatori standing there. Normally, for visits, he would be taken out of the room, and he flushed with embarrassment when he saw Hatori's eyes roaming around the room, taking everything in. He could not really tell what Hatori was thinking, so he said the only thing that came to his mind, "It's more comfortable than it looks."

Hatori looked over at him, and gave him a brief smile after a few seconds. He handed Haru a bag. "Change into your school uniform, we'll be leaving immediately. I just have to sign a few forms, so I'll leave you here to change." He reached over and picked up the plastic box and sketchpad. "I'll just put this in the car first."

Haru nodded dumbly, and when the door closed, he looked into the bag. The clothes smelled as if they had been freshly washed and ironed. He pulled everything out and arranged it on his bed. It was a nice uniform, with a white, long sleeved shirt, dark grey pants, black loafers with socks of the same color, and a jacket, also dark grey, but with white markings. There was also some weird clothing of the same color, but he had no idea what it was for. There was also a blood red tie, but he supposed he could get away with not wearing it, since he hated ties.

He pulled of his hospital clothes and slipped on the shirt. It fitted nicely, lose enough for him to move about. The shirt cuffs were quite large, and he left them unbuttoned. He also left two buttons on the top of the shirt unbuttoned as well. The pants were made of a thicker material than the shirt; he slipped those on as well. All in all, it was quite comfortable after all, not as stiff as he expected it to be, since after all, it was a premier school.

Lastly, he pulled on the jacket, leaving it unbuttoned. He glanced around for a mirror, and then remembered that there was no mirror in his room. Pity, he really wanted to see what he looked like. Maybe when he reached the new school and managed to find his belongings, he could jazz it up with some of his accessories, but for now, this would have to do.

He picked up the last clothing article and stared at it. It was made of the same material as the jacket and pants, and he wondered exactly what it was. He had remembered seeing it before; hence, he knew that it was supposed to be worn. Yet, where was it supposed to go? He pulsed his lips, desperately trying to recall when was the last time he had seen it. At that moment, Hatori stepped in. "All ready to go?" he asked. "You look very dashing, by the way. I wish my high school uniform looked as nice as that."

"What's this?" Haru asked, holding it under Hatori's nose. Hatori glared at him, stepped away, and took it.

He glanced at it, and gave Haru a look that made him feel like a child. "It's a waistcoat." He held it up to Haru. "Well, put it on. We're going to be late if you delay any further."

Haru flushed. "And how am I supposed to put it on?" he asked, rather heatedly. "I've never seen that thing before."

"You haven't?" Hatori gave him that look again. "I always wear waistcoats, maybe you should look around more often. Take off your jacket."

Haru complied. Hatori unbuttoned the waistcoat buttons, and showed Haru where it was supposed to go. He practically had to put it on Haru. Haru buttoned it up, feeling even more of a baby than ever before. Hatori picked up the tie. "You're supposed to wear it."

"I hate ties," Haru stated.

Hatori rolled his eyes to the heavens. Haru could be very difficult if he wanted to, and this was one of those times. "At least wear it for today. You'd want to make a good impression on the chairman, and convince him that you're worth his time." He held it out to Haru, who sulkily took it and pulled it on. When Hatori was not looking though, Haru smirked and pulled it down a little, loosening the top two waistcoat buttons as well. Hatori saw that, rolled his eyes, but did not say anything. He waited for Haru to pull on his jacket, socks and shoes before heading him out of the room.

Now that Haru was actually leaving the room, he could barely believe it. Ever since he had been put in this room, he had been convinced that he would stay here for the rest of his life. He had been so convinced of that that when they told him that he was due to leave, it had come as a major shock to him, one that he could hardly believe was happening. Now that it actually was, Haru had to resist running back into that room and hiding in his bed, and hope to leave some other time, to at least delay his painful return back into the world. Yet, he had to leave sometime or other, and since it was now, he had better get used to it. He took a deep breath, stared resolutely ahead, and followed Hatori. He refused to look back into that room.

When they got out of the building, Haru froze. It was as if a hundred things were assaulting is senses at the same time. Suddenly, he could smell something other than the everlasting hospital smell that he was used to. Instead, he smelled trees, flowers, car exhaust fumes, and food, rubbish . . . he could hear cars, busses, conversations, music, he could see people, nature . . . it was relentless, like a tsunami. He squeezed his eyes shut and hunched down, convinced that it was going to be the end of him, and he wanted to protect himself.

He had no idea how he managed to get into the car. All he knew was that he felt a gentle tug on his arm . . . and he had reached out and grabbed that hand, and allowed that hand to open to open the car door and gently urge him in. That same hand patted his shoulder, and he had looked up to see Shigure, bending over him with this concerned expression on his face, and he had given this awkward smile to convince Shigure that he was fine now. Shigure still looked concerned, but he had nodded and got into the passenger seat. Hatori got into the drivers seat, started the car, and they were off. His face now burned at the though of it. He was supposed to be eighteen years old this year, and he was still behaving like a small child.

The car ride was long and quiet, and Haru found himself dozing off. Outside, he could see trees, buildings, cars, people whizzing past, and he had been so interested in watching them. It was the first time he had seen this in what seemed like years, being locked up in that white room, and he had ended up completely mesmerized by the sight. He never noticed Hatori and Shigure gaze at him, then look at each other with those unreadable expressions. He never noticed himself start to yawn either. Involuntarily, his eyelids closed, and he knew no more.

The next thing he knew, he felt himself being shaken, and he blinked and sat up. He looked around him, and saw nothing familiar. He also noticed that it was evening now, around six, from the electronic car clock. That was strange, he could have sworn it was two when they left the hospital. "Where are we?" he asked.

Shigure grinned at him. "Cross Academy, of course! Oh, and by the way, you look so dashing in your new uniform! Ha-san," here, he nudged Hatori, who almost dropped his car keys. "Don't you wish our high school uniform looked as nice as that?" Haru felt weird. Maybe it was a sense of déjà vu, but he could have sworn that it had happened before. He shrugged and glanced around him.

He was completely amazed at what he saw. Compared to this . . . mountain of a place, Kaibara High was just a tiny hill. Kaibara High had looked like a typical modern high school, yet this place . . . it seemed like some sort of castle, with it's stonewalls, high spirals reaching up into the sky, huge archways at least two stories high. The place was huge, to say the least. He would definitely get lost here. Presently, they were in some sort of compound, helmed in on three sides by archways, the forth, behind them, was a huge spacious field. There were other cars as well; in fact, the compound was rather crowded, full of grown people in formal clothes, and students in their school uniforms. Some of them were gazing with curiosity and interest at Haru. He could hear the murmurs of, "Look, new student!" and "Look at his hair! Think it's natural?" going around, and he felt himself starting to blush. He felt like some kind of zoo exhibit.

Shigure grabbed his arm. "Chairman Cross is waiting to see us!" With that, he led Haru off. "Don't worry about your belongings, the school servants would take then up later."

Obviously, Shigure and Hatori had been here before, because they seemed to know exactly where to go. They took Haru through a whole series of pathways, with either stone or marble flooring, huge windows the whole height of the wall, with white, ornate railings. Haru felt as he had been transported into the past, or at least, another country in Europe. The whole place seemed so . . . ancient. Rin would love this place, he realized. Maybe one of these days, she could come down to visit him.

Soon, they came to a wooden door, and Shigure knocked on it, before straightening his jacket. Shigure always fussed with his clothes every time he was nervous, and this was one of those times. Haru himself began to feel nervous as well. Involuntarily, his hand stole up to his tie. Maybe Hatori was right after all; maybe he should have worn it properly. It was too late to do anything about it now, though.

At that moment, the door was flung open, and there stood a man, dressed . . . rather oddly. He was wearing a huge coat, all the way down to his knees and a red and white checked scarf around his neck. His hair was long, almost down his back, tied back with a black band to keep it away from his face. At the sight of him, Haru could not help smiling; maybe if the head looked somewhat like Ayame maybe this school could not be that bad. "Ah, come on in, come on in," he beamed. "We've been expecting you! I'm sure you haven't had dinner yet, you can join us! We have heaps to talk about! Come on in!" He grabbed Shigure's hand and shook it. "I haven't seen you for a long time, dear boy! We have to talk! Come in, come in!" He held the door open for them to enter.

When they got in, they found themselves in a sitting room, with a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There was a rich, red carpet in the center of the room, on which sat a glass table, surrounded on three sides by black leather sofas. Two other people, one boy and one girl, stood up and moved towards them. Both of them were wearing the school uniform, except they each had a white band with the school logo around their wrists. The boy was rather tall, with light grayish hair, almost white. He had a tattoo on his neck, visible because like Haru, he was not wearing the uniform correctly either. He was also frowning, and glaring suspiciously at Haru. Haru felt very tempted to glare back, but he bit down his ire, it would not do to create a scene here, with so many people watching his behavior. The girl was small sized, with dark brown hair, and a cheerful smile. She was using it now on Haru, but he could see the curiosity in her eyes, as she gazed back at him.

The Chairman bustled across and placed his hands on the shoulders of both the boy and the girl. "Ah, I see, you've made the acquaintances of my foster children. This young lady here," a squeeze on her shoulder to accompany his words, "Is Yuki Cross, while this young man here," another squeeze, which caused the boy to glare at him, "Is Zero Kiriyu. Now, my dear children, be nice and say hi."

"H-hi," Haru stammered, his hand involuntarily going up to play with his tie again.

"Hi!" Yuki beamed at him. "You're Hatsuharu-san, right? Welcome to Cross Academy! We really hope that you'll enjoy yourself being here! You look really tired though . . . it must have been a long journey. You should sleep early tonight." She glanced over at Zero, who said nothing. "Zero-kun," she nudged him in the ribs, "Can't you try to be more sociable, at least?" Zero shrugged, but at least he managed to nod at Haru. Haru nodded back at him, trying to clamp down once again on his temper. What was wrong with this boy? His manners were even worse than Kyo's. Haru found himself smiling wistfully at the remembrance of his rather hot-tempered cousin, then shrugged. It was no use remembering him here, especially since he was not even here to begin with. Yuki shook her head in despair; "I guess he's in a bad mood today, then. Like always."

"Come, let's eat!" Chairman Cross announced. "And don't worry," he added sheepishly, "I didn't cook it this time." He led the way into another room, this time, with a huge polished wooden table with a white, crosspatch tablecloth. On which were spread dishes of various kinds, steamed fish, stewed meat in black sauce, stir fried vegetables, generous mounds of rice. Haru noted that there were chairs around the table, and balked slightly. He was not very used to sitting in chairs while eating, but did not seem like he had a choice. He only hoped that he would not disgrace himself.

Chairman Cross was surprisingly nice, completely unlike the normal principals he was used to. Those who were dressed properly, in suits, who glared at pupils as they walked past, refusing to get too close to them. The Kaibara principal had been like that, and Haru had disliked him for it. Chairman Cross was such a friendly person, he was able to hold a conversation, and actually make people feel more welcomed. Plus, even knowing Haru's story of why he had been expelled from his previous school, he still welcomed him here with open arms. If Chairman Cross was like this, then maybe Cross Academy was not so bad either. His chances of survival were greater now. As long as he managed to avoid Zero Kiriyu, he would be fine.

Alright, you guys know the drill. Review! Thanks in advance!


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! My latest chapter is up! Thanks so much for all your reviews; it really made my day receiving them. I'm so glad you guys like my story, and actually bother to take the time to read and review, I admit that it does make me want to write more.**

**Sorry if this seems rather late, I had a lot of schoolwork to do, and on top of that, I did very badly for my midyears, so I'm rather down at the moment. I will continue to update regularly though, because I know that if I don't enjoy my leisure time, I'll probably go mental like Haru, so it won't work out for me. Writing relaxes me, and I don't think I can give up on it. Anyway, I'm trying to use all the techniques that I've learn in Literature, so in a way, I am studying while doing this. **

**Well, enough of my chit chat. I really hope you guys like this chapter, and would take the time to review. Constructive criticism very much welcome, because I do want to improve on my writing. Thanks in advance, and see you soon! In the meantime, enjoy chapter 3 of "Black Blood"!**

Chapter 3

After dinner, Haru followed Hatori and Shigure down to the car. Dinner had been a quiet affair, with Shigure and Chairman Cross talking to each other in whispers, and Haru had been too far away to hear exactly what was being said. Hatori had been mostly silent, except that he kept looking at Haru, and Haru felt as if he was an animal in the cage. He wondered why Hatori was looking at him, most likely, it was to make sure that Haru did not disgrace himself. Being in a mental hospital was disgraceful enough for the Sohmas anyway. Yuki Cross once asked if Haru was tired and whether he preferred to rest in his room, but Haru, not wanting to appear rude, thanked her politely and declined the invitation. Zero Kiriyu had remained silent throughout the meal, staring down at his food as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

It was after the meal was over that Chairman Cross told Zero to show Haru to his room. "It's right next to yours," he added, "And I'm sure poor Hatsuharu is tired from his long journey."

"Call me Haru," Haru blurted out before he could stop himself. He flushed with embarrassment. Normally, he hated being called by his full name and back at Kaibara High, everyone, including the teachers, had called him Haru. Unless they were really angry with him, that is. This was one of the times that he really missed being in Kaibara High; at least he was familiar with the place there. Here, though, it was so different." I . . . sorry," he said quickly, trying to lessen the damaged. "It's just that when I get called by my full name I automatically think I'm in trouble."

Chairman Cross had smiled at him. "It's alright, we don't mind. Life's too short to be going around calling you Hatsuharu every time we wanted you." Haru smiled back, relieved that they were not angry with him after all. It was strange; it was as if his time in the mental hospital had changed his personality. Normally, he was a calm person who knew how to keep his head, especially in new circumstances, but now, he felt so nervous. It did not help that people kept staring at him. He quickly tucked his hands into his pockets. Hatori and Shigure were looking at each other.

"If that's the case," Hatori spoke up, "We'll do down to the car to direct the servants with Haru's luggage."

"Can I go with them?" Haru asked.

"Sure," Chairman Cross replied. "I'll tell Zero to meet you later then." He squeezed Haru's shoulder. "It'll be good if you said a proper goodbye to them anyway. Oh," he added, looking at Shigure. "I'll call you soon. There are some things I need to discuss with you."

"Sure," Shigure replied. He waved at Chairman Cross before leaving the room with Hatori and Haru. Once again, Shigure and Hatori seemed to know exactly where they were going, while the place still remained unfamiliar to Haru. He'd be lost when they left, and he was not looking forward to that. When they got down, Hatori unlocked the door and called some servants over. He handed over Haru's trunk and plastic box, and gave them Haru's room number. Haru just watched the whole proceedings, not saying anything. Finally, when the servants left, Hatori came back to them.

All three stood there, silent, each in their own thoughts. Hatori sighed. "Well, I guess we should go then. You'll be alright, won't you?" he asked Haru.

Haru bit his lip and nodded. "I'm supposed to be nineteen, of course I'll be alright," he said finally, trying to sound offhand. Yet, even he could tell that he meant the exact opposite; his voice trembled as he said those words. "I'll be fine," he repeated, though it was more to reassure himself than for the other two.

Hatori gazed at him. "Call me if anything goes wrong," he finally ordered. "And I mean it. And write us a letter at least once a week to let us know how you're doing."

"Alright," Haru had to smile at that. For some reason, Hatori's words actually reassured him. Shigure had been watching Haru intently while Hatori was talking to him. He stepped forward as well and placed a hand on Haru's shoulder.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" he said, trying to sound offhand. "We won't want anything bad happening to you." Haru nodded again. He gazed longingly at the car, wishing that he could just follow Hatori and Shigure in. He was scared, he had to admit. Shigure and Hatori were the only people tying him to his old life, and now that they were about to leave, he felt even more alone. He did not know anybody here, and his own friends were so far away from him. However, he had to move on. He could not stay tied to his old life, or other people's apron strings. He had to manage on his own. It was a part of growing up, after all, of moving away from old familiar things. It was something that inevitably happened in one's life, and he might as well get used to it now.

Haru gave a surprised squeak when Shigure enveloped him in a hug. Before he could do anything, Shigure was already heading towards the car door. Hatori gave him a quick squeeze on the shoulder and a sad smile before opening the door and slipping into the drivers seat. Haru watched dumbly as the car sped off, raising his own hand to wave until the car was out of sight. He had no idea whether they saw it or not, but at least he had done his best to thank them for all they had done for him so far. He took a deep breath and turned resolutely away, it was now time for him to move on, to fend for himself.

A few seconds later, Zero joined him. "Ready to go up to your room yet?" he asked. Haru tried to say yes but found, for some reason, a large lump in his throat. Not trusting himself to speak, he simply nodded. Zero just shrugged. "This way," he said, and headed off to the left. Haru followed, and found himself being led away from the main blocks into a pathway lighted by ornate lamps. Zero glanced at the lamps and stated, "Better hurry, the night class people would be coming soon." There was an odd note in his voice when he mentioned the night class, but Haru decided not to press it. He was so tired, most likely he had imagined it. He found his eyelids closing, and he quickly rubbed his eyes to take away the sleepiness.

"Where were we just now?" Haru asked Zero. "That place where we were eating."

"That was the main block," Zero replied. "The classrooms, libraries and recreational facilities are all there, and we share those with the Night Class. The headmaster's rooms are all there as well. We don't share dormitories though; we stay in the sun dormitory while the night classes stay in the moon dormitory. The moon dormitory is at the other side of the main block. As day students, we're not allowed to go there."

"How come?" Haru asked.

Zero shrugged, but did not answer. Finally, he said, "We better get going."

Haru frowned, feeling the irritation rise up in him again. However, he was too exhausted to press Zero for answers. He could not even think straight. If he remembered, he would make sure to ask Zero the next day.

A few seconds later, they reached another building. This building was half the size of the main compound, and lighted with ornate lamps. Zero pushed open the double doors and held them open for Haru before closing them. Haru found himself in a landing, two stories high. From the landing, two staircases, carpeted red, led into two separate alcoves and Zero was heading towards the right. Haru quickly followed him, glancing at the chandelier lighting up the entire landing. He had to smile, the light felt somewhat comforting. Strange; there was something about this place that made him appreciate whatever light was available.

As it turned out, the alcoves contained another flight of stairs. Haru was led up two more flights until he reached a corridor. Zero stopped at the third door from the stairs and opened one of the doors. This time, the door was a single one. He dropped the key into Haru's hand. "This is your room, all your stuff should be inside already. Keep your door locked at all times when you're not inside. Breakfast is at six tomorrow, I'll take you to the breakfast hall. I'm just next door, so I call you. The bathroom is at the other end of the corridor. You should find your name on the cubicle allocated to you."

"Alright," Haru replied. "Thanks." He opened the door and walked in. He turned back and saw Zero nod at him before heading towards the stairs. Haru shrugged. Zero probably had something else on.

He glanced around the room. It was in darkness, but from the hall light, he could just barely locate the light switch on his left. He turned it on, and light flooded into the room from the light located at the center of the ceiling. It was a round disk with a polished, wooden frame. It was a simple room, with a desk at the right hand corner of the room and a window with red curtains overlooking it, a bed in the center, and a wooden wardrobe and chest of drawers lining the wall on his right. He noticed that his trunk was already next to the bed, and his plastic box on it. He closed the door, locked it, and sat down on the bed. From outside, he could hear voices, shouting loud welcomes, laughing, and the slamming of doors. They must have come in after Zero left. Haru shuddered at the though of having to walk past all those people in order to get to the bathroom. They would definitely stare at him, especially since they had never seen him before and they would be curious. He was not sure whether he could stomach being stared at by so many unfamiliar people.

This was so unfair. Barely hours after he was taken out of the mental hospital, where he was kept solitary and not needing to talk very much, now he was being expected to socialize. He was not sure whether he could do this, since he barely had the chance to talk to people in the mental hospital, and now . . . he had almost completely forgotten now to talk to normal people, and to be himself. If only he had more time to get used to things outside . . . but then, if he did not, then when would he ever get the chance?

He sighed. This was one of the times he desperately needed to talk to someone, but he was completely alone here. Rin's college was quite near, but most likely, she was busy studying, and he did not want to bother her. There was nobody he could trust, not yet at any rate. Maybe he wouldn't bathe now. He'd wait until everybody had gone to their rooms before bathing. He would have to forgo his morning showers then, at least until he was more familiar with the people around him. In the meantime, he might as well start unpacking.

Haru opened his plastic box and began to unpack his things. Then, he started on his trunk. To his relief, they had packed some of his normal clothes, as well as his nightclothes, so he did not have to wear his uniform to sleep, as he had feared. His box of clothing accessories were also there as well, he placed those at the corner of his desk, along with his stationary. His books, mostly mangas and comics, went into the bookshelves. He had to smirk at that, he was the one who had gotten Kyo hooked on mangas and comics in the first place. His play station was not in the trunk, neither were his games, but he had spent about six months in the mental hospital without a single game consol present that he had all but forgotten that he had once been addicted to it. He did not even feel the need for it now.

For some reason, he actually felt much better. Maybe it was because now that he was doing menial labor, he did not have to really think. He did not have to focus on his feelings. If he were able to keep them at the back of his head and focus his mind on something at hand, he would be able to shut out his unwanted emotions. He had been doing this ever since he would remember. If he did not focus on his emotions, he did not have to acknowledge their existence.

His room looked neat now, but yet, with his items, as well as the scent on them, reminded him of his own room back in the Sohma compound. This made him smile; it was so comforting to see a semblance of his former life in his new one. This room could be a refuge to him until he got used to being in Cross Academy. It was a comfort to finally find something familiar, in a place completely new to him.

Soon, the voices outside died down, and he heard a few doors close. Maybe the students were tired and would want to retire early. That was certainly the case for him, he felt as if he was going to fall dead on his feet at any second. By this time, he could not even formulated a coherent thought. He opened the door cautiously and peered out. The whole corridor was empty, and he could hear sounds of scuffling behind most of the doors. He glanced at the hall clock: ten o'clock pm. Coast was clear, there was nobody there to see him. Once he bathed, he could retire early, and get ready for the next day. He needed all the strength he could gather, in order to survive here.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! Finally got this up, and ready to read! Hope you guys like this latest chapter, especially to all you guys in the Yori fandom. Yori finally makes her appearance! I really, really hope that she isn't out of character or anything, because it would be pretty much an injustice done to her. Please let me know the moment she gets out of character, okay? Thanks!**

**Yori would definitely get a big part in this, because she barely gets any mention in the manga itself, even though she's Yuki's best friend. The least the mangaka could do was to have her appear as a support to Yuki. However, at least here we can give our favourite characters staring roles, which is a good thing. Yori definitely one of my favourite characters, my second favourite female character after Ruka.**

**To harrypocky: Thanks for your review! Yup, Haru does seem pretty meek. Well . . . he was in a mental hospital, now he's in an unfamiliar place. Am really looking forward to writing more about him! Hope I don't get out of character for him though.**

**Oh well, enough of my chat, time to read Chapter 4! Really hope you guys like it! Don't forget to read and review, thanks so much in advance! Constructive criticism very much welcome. Ta ta, and until next time, see yah!**

Chapter 4

A bell clanged in the distance, causing Haru to almost jump out of his skin. He quickly sat up and took a look around him. At first, he could not remember where he was, and felt a surge of panic course through him. This place looked completely unlike both the room he had stayed in when he was staying in the mental hospital, as well as his own room at the Sohma compound. Yet, it still had his precious knickknacks, and they even had his own scent on it.

At that moment, his eyes fell on his uniform he had so painstakingly hung on his wardrobe door so that he would be able to leave his room on time without having to panic and search for his stuff, and suddenly, he remembered where he was. He was in Cross Academy, surrounded by complete strangers, with the exception of two people he had been introduced to just the night before. He was far away from everything he had known or at least been familiar with. He felt like crawling back into his sheets and never coming out again. Yet, he knew that he could not. Too many questions would be asked. Once again, he wondered whether he was even ready to leave the mental hospital, and whether he even wanted to in the first place.

Sighing, he got out of bed and stumbled towards his wardrobe, almost tripping over his schoolbooks. He was always like this in the morning, drowsy and barely able to think properly and for some reason, this made him feel better. At least there were still things that were similar to his past life.

He pulled on his uniform, leaving his tie and top collar buttons undone. Once again, he realized belatedly that he had no idea how to do up his tie, so he just left it hanging around his collar. Maybe he could seek help later. He then went to his door and opened it. The moment he opened it though, he froze, because just then, he realized that there might be people outside. He quickly pushed it shut, then once again, felt that familiar surge of irritation. For heavens sake, he couldn't keep hiding this way, sooner or later, he would have to go out and face them. Why on earth was he being such a coward about it now? He would have to stop borrowing Black's courage and try to cope on his own, otherwise Black would never disappear. Maybe that was why black kept appearing, white was completely unable to cope on his own.

This had to stop. Haru gritted his teeth, gripped the doorknob and pulled the door open. The moment he did so, all conversation ceased, and all eyes turned to stare at him. Haru had never been so embarrassed before in his entire life. He managed a stricken smile before fleeing to the bathroom, slamming the cubicle door behind him. Once alone, he sank to the ground and put his face into his hands. What on earth was wrong with him? He remembered the first time he came to Kaibara High. He remembered sauntering around with his cousin Momiji, going black when the student president picked on both of them because of his hair and Momiji's way of wearing the uniform.

Of course, Momiji had been with him then. Here, he was all alone, with nobody to accompany him and give him the confidence he needed in new situations. He could not even imagine hanging out with Zero Kiriyu the way he did with Momiji. Once, he had been irritated by Momiji's incessant chatter, but now, he found himself wishing that he could have Momiji with him. What he would not give to have Momiji yakking away into his ear, even if it were non-stop. Momiji was far away though, and he did not think he would see him again for a long time.

Most likely, they had seen his name outside his cubicle door, so they did know he existed. It just jarred him to see so many people staring at him like a zoo animal. He glanced at his watch and saw that fifteen minutes had passed, and breakfast would be in half an hour's time. Quickly, he brushed his teeth, and then cursed when he realized that he had left his comb in his room, he could not style his hair properly now. He ran his fingers through his hair to neaten it, and then stepped out of the cubicle. He pretended not to notice when the boys on his corridor stared at him again. He heard a few of them commenting on his hair, and smirked as he remembered how he had shown the student president that his hair was natural. He certainly could not do it here though, in front of so many eyes. Most of them were talking about his hair and whether it was natural or not. Some even commented that it looked nice on him, though it was to their friends, not to his face. However, at least some boys were willing to smile and nod at him.

When he got to his room, he found Zero Kiriyu waiting outside his door. He noticed that Zero was rubbing his eyes with his hand, but he quickly straightened up when he saw Haru staring at him. "The dining hall's this way," he said and headed down the stairs. Haru just shrugged and followed him.

"You okay?" he asked Zero when he finally caught up with him just as they were leaving the sun dormitory.

"Yeah," Zero replied. "Just tired out, I guess."

"You did sleep last night, didn't you?" Haru asked.

"No, I had duties to do," Zero answered, but now, a tinge of annoyance was starting to creep into his voice. "Yuki and I are student councilors."

"Oh," Haru replied and was silent after that. Zero must have been in a bad mood. However, hadn't he been in a bad mood the night before? He had to smile at that; Kyo always seemed to be in a bad mood as well, though at least he had mellowed somewhat in his final year. He had less fights with Yuki, and even less fights with Haru, though the last time Haru had seen him, it had been during his Black moment before he blacked out, during that fateful episode that landed him in the mental hospital. He sighed. Kyo was probably in the cage by now, though. He did not even get to speak to him.

"We're here," Zero stated, and Haru looked up in surprise to see that they were in a huge hall, full of rows of tables and benches, coloured a dark brown, and polished, almost completely occupied by a huge number of both boys and girls, eating and making a huge amount of noise. Vaguely, he wondered how people could talk loudly and eat at the same time. A mystery . . .

At that moment, he saw Zero wave, then nudge Haru and headed for whomever he had been waving at. Haru followed him, and soon found himself at a table, at which two girls were seated. He recognized the dark haired girl as Yuki, whom he had met the previous night, but he had no idea who the other girl was. She was slightly taller than Yuki, and had light wavy brown hair cut slightly above chin length. She was looking at him steadily, and he wondered if she was curious about his hair. "It's natural, my hair, I mean." he said.

"Really?" Yuki asked in amazement, and even Zero stared.

"That's interesting," the other girl stated. "I've seen people with weird hair colors, but I've never seen someone with his hair in two colors."

"Our dorm leader has his hair in two colours as well," Zero added. "But he recently told me that it had been dyed." He turned to Haru. "I'll introduce you to him later at his office, he's in his third year, and he's dorm leader to boot, so he gets his own office."

Yuki suddenly squeaked, then grinned sheepishly. "I can't believe I forgot to introduce you!" she laughed. "Oh well," she indicated the shorthaired girl, "Haru-san, meet Sayori Wanaka, my best friend!"

"Nice to meet you, Wanaka-san," Haru said, politely.

The other girl gave him a smile. "Nice to meet you too, Haru-san, but please, call me Yori. Every time I hear my full name I feel as if I'm about to get into trouble."

"Same here," Haru replied. He was about to say something further before Zero interrupted them.

"We might as well eat now," he said impatiently, "The food's getting cold, and I'm starved!"

Yuki pretended to pout. "Aren't you going to thank us for getting food for you? There was such a long queue as well."

Zero bobbed her on the head. "Wasn't it supposed to be your job? Both of you got down earlier than us."

"That's because you two took so long," Yuki retorted. "Right, Yori?"

"I don't know anything," Yori replied, already starting to eat. "You guys better get eating too, the bell would ring in fifteen minutes time."

Haru watched the whole scene with a bland look on his face. Here he was, surrounded by strangers who were so familiar with each other that he ended up feeling even lonelier around them. No matter how familiar they seemed, they were still not people he was comfortable with, unlike his cousins.

To take his mind of his feelings, he gazed down at the food. It was porridge again, but this time, with some dark sauce and egg bits inside, along with some radish. It smelt absolutely delicious, and he could not resist taking an experimental spoonful. He began eating faster; it was a long time since he had tasted anything this delicious, after tasting the standard fare of mental hospital food, and even then, not really tasting it because his mind had always been elsewhere. It was surprising that the food was good, because in all the schools he had been to, the food always tasted horrid. In fact, he had even taken to bringing his own meals because he could not stand the food.

At least here, he did not have to resort to doing this. Then again, this place was a boarding school, and there was no way he could get outside food anyway, but at least, he did not have to worry about where to get food. This place was a premier school, so they could afford to spend more money on making food taste better. He gazed around at the students, and most of them seemed pretty well off, with the expensive watches around their wrists and bright, shiny, high quality shoes. The girls were allowed to wear earrings, and he could not help noticing that they were made of pure gold. He also recognized some of their hair accessories as being purchased at the more high-end shops in down. He had seen them, and they certainly cost a lot more than the normal stuff he was used to buying. Even though he was from a well-known and well-to-do family background, he did not really feel on par with them, because he simply could not comprehend how people could spend so much on something they could get at a much cheaper price at the department store. Probably, none of them had ever had to stay in a mental hospital or had to turn into animals.

At that moment, he felt a poke in his side. "Why so quiet?" Yori asked with a grin. "The present company not good enough for you?

"Of course not," Haru replied. He cleared his throat. "Erm . . . are you guys in the same class as me?"

Yori shrugged. "Depends on what level you are and what subjects you're taking. The three of us are all in the first year. How about you?"

"Oh . . ." Haru tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. "I'm in the second year. Guess we won't be in the same class then." Now, he was going to be in a class full of complete strangers. What could be worse? At least in Kaibara High, Momiji had been in the same class as him. Here? Three people whom he had just been acquainted with, and they were not even in the same level as him.

"Don't worry," Yuki tried to comfort him. "I'm sure you'll make friends. Anyway, the seniors would be more accepting, since they are supposedly more mature."

Zero snorted. "Not if Kain-sempai and Aido-sempai are among that lot."

"Zero!" Yuki poked him. "They're both night class students anyway, so it's not likely you'll bump into them."

"Oh, Kain-sempai is fine," Yori added, "He's rather nice. Aido-sempai though . . ." All three of them looked meaningfully at each other. Haru blinked and stared down at his food, wondering if they were speaking in a code only known to them. It would be nice to understand people, he though wistfully.

At that moment, the bell rang. Amidst groans, students began clearing their dishes and leaving the hall. Yuki groaned. "I'm so dead, I just realized that I haven't finished my holiday homework."

Yori sighed and shook her head. "Class president sure would have a lot to say after this. Well . . . it's too late to be doing anything about it, I guess. We better get going to class."

"Haru-sempai, what class are you in?" Yuki asked. "If you like, I could show you how to get there."

Haru handed Yuki his timetable. Yuki looked at it. "It's near our class, I can take you there. You guys go ahead first," she told Yori and Zero.

"Thanks," Haru replied. He waved at the other two before following Yuki into the melee of students to get to his classroom.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys! Chapter 5 of "Black Blood" is up, and good to go! I really hope you guys like this, because to tell the truth, I am not quite sure whether I got the struggle between Black and White Haru correct, as well as Haru's characterisation. It is true that he experienced some personality changes due to his trauma, which landed him in the mental hospital, but I don't want to change his personality too much. I'm hoping that the characterisation of Black and White Haru remain the same, so if I got it wrong, please let me know okay? Thanks so much!**

**Oh, and thanks for all your reviews! I really appreciate your effort to actually read my work and leave a review, it really means a lot to me! **

**To Martial artist-Mariko: Same here, I've never seen a coloured picture of Yori, so I kind of assumed that her hair was light brown . . . shows just how neglected Yori seems to be in the manga. She deserves a much bigger part, definitely. **

**Heh, I'm kind of hoping that Haru would get a surprise when he meets Kain. I'm quite looking forward to it, because Kain is after all, my favourite Vampire Knight character, and I'm so going to enjoy writing about him! I hope I get his characterisation correct though . . .**

**Okay, on with the next chapter! Please leave a review, okay? Constructive criticism very much welcome! Until next time, see yah, and have fun!**

Chapter 5

"And here we are, class 2B!" Yuki announced. She peered in, waved at someone, and then poked her head out again. "You're in luck, the sensei's really nice. She's probably the nicest teacher in this school!"

"That's great," Haru replied. "Erm . . . thanks for showing me where to go."

"No problem!" Yuki replied. "We'll come here and look for you during break. See you later!" She waved at him and darted away before he could say anything. Haru stared after her retreating figure, wondering what he should do now. He should go into the classroom, yet, he felt as if something was stopping him. He could barely move his legs, and his stomach was feeling weird. Once again, his hands were starting to shake, and he could feel the familiar urgings of Black Haru's consciousness seeping into his mind. He shook his head; this was no time to act cowardly. He could not afford to loose control now.

He glanced back into the corridor. There were very few people there, mostly people in formal clothes, whom he assumed were teachers. By this time, the students should have settled down in their classes, and anybody caught not in his or her classroom would be accused of being late and punished. Then again, that was the case in Kaibara High; he had no idea what the etiquette here was supposed to be. He could be so stupid at times, he should have asked Yuki, Yori or Kiriyu when he was eating with them earlier.

Once again, his anger brought Black up from the depths of his mind, and Haru clenched his fists, and squeezed his eyes shut, determined not to let Black Haru get the better of him now. He could feel Black struggling to rise out from his defences, but this time, now that White had somehow gained the determination to fight back, he could feel Black slowly start to loose strength. White was literally gaining strength from Black, because the more Haru pushed Black back, the more his White self seemed to strengthen. Finally, Black disappeared into the depths of his mind, grumbling as he went, and Haru opened his eyes again, sagging involuntarily against the door-frame. He could not resist a smile, once again; he had managed to beat Black back. He had once thought this impossible, his psychiatrists at the mental hospital had once told him that he had to be determined enough to fight Black for Black to disappear and apparently, he had managed it after all.

Once Black was gone, Haru could feel those tremors of fear again, but knowing that since he was able to push Black away, he could deal with this. This was nothing compared to Black, Black was strong, Black could literally push White away and take control in almost a second, without even giving him a chance to fight back. He could not let that happen. He took a deep breath and forced his thoughts away, leaving his mind a blank. That was how he had been able to ward off Black when he was in the mental hospital. He had completely blocked his thoughts because he had been too mentally exhausted to even think, and it was then that he realised that with thoughts came emotions, and with emotions came unwanted anger, and from anger came Black. In order to deal with Black, he could not let his thoughts form into emotions.

When Haru felt sufficiently calm, he strode into the classroom and slipped into the desk nearest to the door, to attract as little attention as he could. However, once he looked up, he realised that he should not have bothered, because everybody was already staring at him. All noise had ceased the moment he walked into the classroom. He could feel himself starting to flush with embarrassment, he felt like some sort of zoo animal on display.

He gazed around the room with interest, glancing at his fellow pupils. There were about twenty pupils altogether, excluding him, with an equal number of boys and girls each, though now that he was there, the number of boys had since increased by one. He had never been in such a small class before, the smallest class in Kaibara High had at least thirty-five pupils, and that had been his and Momiji's class. Yet there seemed to be as many pupils here as there were in Kaibara High. A mystery . . . maybe there were more classes. He could see the logical reasoning though, at least with a smaller class, the teachers would be able to spend more time on each pupil, especially the weaker ones.

He gazed around the classroom. The pupils were dressed well, the boys were neat and well groomed, and most of them wore the uniform in the proper way, top collar buttoned, ties all the way up to their collars, waistcoats and jackets completely buttoned up. However, at least three were wearing their uniforms like him. It made him uncomfortable staring too long at the properly dressed boys, it made him feel like he was unable to breathe. His hand involuntarily went up to his tie, and he scowled. Once again, he had forgotten to get someone to tie it properly for him, and he had simply left it hanging lose from his collar. Until now, he still did not see the need for the waistcoat, and he had left it half unbuttoned. He had not even bothered to button his jacket.

The desks were also rather old fashioned; they were made of wood, and tilted to a ten-degree angle. There was also a lid one had to lift up in order to store things underneath. Haru lifted his up and placed his schoolbooks inside, then made a face when he realised that he had forgotten to bring his pencil-case. He had always forgotten to bring his pencil case every first day of school. It was a mystery . . . he could remember to bring his schoolbooks but not his pencil case. He would have to borrow from someone later.

At that moment, someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, new boy." Haru turned around and saw that it was one of the boys, one of those wearing his uniform properly. "How much did it cost to make your hair look like that?"

Haru sighed inwardly. He had already lost count of how many times they had asked that same question. They had even asked him that at the mental hospital. He was getting quite sick of it. "It's my natural hair colour," he replied.

"No way," another boy added. "You're lying, no one can be born with hair like that. Anyway, the roots of your hair are black. "

"I'm not lying!" Haru snapped, his temper once again rising. "I can prove it to you if you like!"

"And how do you propose to do that?" The first boy asked with such an irritating smirk that Haru had to struggle to resist the temptation to wipe that smirk of his face. Instead, he clenched his fists, and turned away, once again forcing Black down. He seemed to be doing it a lot lately.

"Hey, stop teasing him!" A girl called out. Haru glanced over, and saw a girl standing up, arms akimbo. She was up to his shoulders in height, and had black, shoulder length hair pulled away from her face and tied into a small ponytail. She also had a frown on her face. The two antagonists muttered under their breath and walked back towards their seats. The girl's frown disappeared, and she even gave Haru a small smile. "Hi, I'm Aiko. I'm the class president." She told him. "And you are?"

"Hatsuharu Sohma," Haru replied in as bland a tone he could manage. He did not particularly feel like telling them to call him Haru, like what he normally did with new acquaintances. In fact, what he felt like doing was standing up, unleashing Black on them to teach them a lesson before stalking out of the classroom. He was even tempted to stalk all the way back to the Sohma Compound if he had to, even if he ended up taking a year to do so, knowing his terrible sense of direction. Anything would be better than these people. Once again, he felt Black rising up, but he forced his emotions away, it would not do, it would make things even worse for him. He could still feel the stares of the rest of the students on him, he felt as if they were burning a hole into his body. He tried not to notice the stares, but he still wished he could bury himself in a hole.

At that moment, the door opened and a woman stepped in. She was wearing the standard white blouse and cotton, grey knee-length skirt and black high-heels of a workingwoman, but her spectacles were rather unusual. They were thick framed, and coloured a vibrant red. She also had mousy brown hair tied back into a bun, and a serene smile on her face. She was rather pretty, she could only be in her early to late twenties, she looked too young for thirty, and nobody would even dream of suggesting that to her. She was rather tall as well, around Mayuko-sensei's height.

Almost immediately, the noise level dropped and the students quickly stood up, standing along their rows of desks. Haru quickly did the same. It was then that he noticed that the classroom was actually tilted at a ten-degree angle, and the backs of the benches were connected to the front of the desk behind it. He almost tripped as he got out, and bit back a curse, glancing around at the other students to check if they had noticed. To his misfortune, he noticed a few smirks from the two boys whom he had been 'talking' to earlier, and once again had to bite back another curse.

The woman's eyes swept around the class, before finally resting on Haru, who fidgeted, and stared at the ground. She was probably wondering about his hair as well. He should have dyed it. No, he should have just shaved himself bald. No matter how many times his parents had tried to dye his hair when he was much younger, the dye seemed to wash off after a few seconds. It did not even need water, it would just drip off. It was probably something to do with the curse. It was as if the animal he had been born as was trying to assert itself, and could not be brushed aside as simply as that. It was perfectly fine if the humans shared the same hair colours as the animals they, like Hiro and Rin, had been born with, but if your hair was a vibrant orange, or even worse, dual coloured like his own, it was far too notable to avoid questions.

At that moment, the woman spoke. "Good morning, class," she said. "I am Itsumi-sensei, and I will be your form teacher this year." Some students were grinning at each other, and Itsumi-sensei noticed this. "You all probably know me, I taught you maths last year, and now, I'll still be teaching maths, of course. Now, let's greet each other properly, shall we? Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Itsumi-sensei," the class replied, bowing. She nodded and indicated with her right hand that they were to sit. Once the scuffling of feet and similar sounds died away, she spoke again. "I'm sure some of you are aware that we have a new student in our midst. Would you like to introduce yourself?" she asked Haru.

Haru's face burned and he stared down at the ground. Once again, all eyes were on him. He mumbled something under his breath before standing up again. "Sohma Hatsuharu," he said finally, in as calm a tone he could manage. "And yes," he added. "It's my natural hair colour." Answer it before anybody else could even think the question. He was already sick and tired of being asked about his hair at least five times a day.

"What high school were you from before you came here?" Another boy asked.

"Kaibara High," Haru answered.

"Ick, that school," he heard a girl mutter under her breath. It was then that he remembered that Cross Academy and Kaibara High were supposedly in some kind of rivalry. He himself found the rivalry stupid, especially since both schools were each at the opposite ends of the city, and he kept rolling his eyes everytime someone in Kaibara High wanted to talk about it. It was a complete waste of time anyway. Yet, even he had not been completely blameless. He suddenly remembered the time he and Momiji had been making fun of the Cross Academy uniform, saying that it was too frilly for their own good, and that probably explained why they acted so stuck-up. He had even strutted across the street, pretending to be a Cross Academy student with his nose up in the air, pretending to suffocate under all the frills, and Momiji had literally been laughing his head off. He shook his head ruefully, it was pretty ironic that he was now wearing the very uniform he had been so intent on making fun off, and he still felt that half the uniform was unnecessary. He could not even roll his sleeves up, like what he could do when he was still in Kaibara High.

However, Itsumi-sensei seemed to have heard her. She rapped her fingers sharply on her desk, making everybody look up at her. "Class, I happen to feel that this rivalry with Kaibara High is utter nonsense, and I would not have you discriminating against Sohma-kun just because he was from that school. Understand?"

"Yes, sensei, everybody else muttered.

The moment Haru sat down, Aiko turned to him. "You aren't even wearing your tie."

Haru frowned. "I thought I wore it this morning . . ." he glanced down at his feet and saw that his tie had dropped down to the floor. "I guess it wasn't tied on properly, then." He bent down to pick it up, then stared at it.

"Do you even know how to do up a tie?" Aiko asked, with a touch of exasperation in her voice. Sheepishly, Haru shook his head. Aiko heaved a sigh, snatched Haru's tie from his hands, yanked his head down by his collar, and proceeded to do up his tie. Haru almost choked when she buttoned his top collar button and pushed the tie up right up to it. "Now all you have to do is tuck your tie into your waistcoat and button it up. Your waist coat is half undone by the way."

"Erm . . . thanks," Haru managed to squeak out. He tried to loosen his tie but Aiko pushed his hand away and frowned at him. Then, she glanced up at Itsumi-sensei and pulled out a notebook and a pen. Haru did the same, though he peered into his desk, hoping to find a pen tucked inside that someone could have left behind. Aiko rolled her eyes, reached for her pencil case and tossed an extra pen in his direction. "Thanks," Haru whispered, catching it. Aiko pretended to ignore him, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw her trying to hide a smile.

As with most classes on the first day of school, there were no proper lessons, only introductions by various teachers. They, of course, had to be introduced to him too, and he ended up repeating his name at least five times, for the five consecutive teachers who came in after Itsumi-sensei. Three of them were male, while the other two were female. They had also been very interested in his hair, and after the third teacher, Haru started volunteering the information that his hair was completely natural. He still could not remember their names; then again, he would probably have enough time to remember their names later, since they would be teaching him for the whole year. There were a whole lot of things to be done during that week, files and notebooks to be bought and sorted out, A4 lined paper for essays and assignments. Haru was also given a library card and told that he could borrow at the most four books from the school library as soon as he had his particulars filled in, though he would have to return the books after two weeks. Haru noted all that down in his notebook and sighed, he only hoped that he had enough money in his wallet to be able to buy all those. He had no idea where the library or the bookshop was located, and he planned to ask Yuki and the others the next time he saw them. He needed notepaper as well; Hatori would be irritated with him if he forgot to write during that week. He wondered what would happen if he wrote to Hatori using Hello Kitty notepaper, and had to bite back a smile after imagining the expression Hatori would have on his face.

At that moment, the bell rang. Haru glanced at his timetable and saw to his relief that it was time for break. After the last teacher left, the students started packing their stuff, making a whole lot of noise as they did so. It sounded like a stampede, and Haru was sure that the building would collapse around them. He kept his schoolbooks in his desk and returned the pen back to Aiko, who nodded her thanks.

Just when he was about to leave the classroom, Aiko called him. "Sohma-san, what would you be doing for break later?"

Haru remembered that he was supposed to meet Yuki, Yori and Kiriyu for break. "Oh, just meeting some friends," he replied.

"Oh," Aiko replied with a shrug, and with that, she left the classroom on her own. Haru frowned after her retreating back; none of the other students had left yet. In fact, all of them were taking their own sweet time, yakking with each other while putting their books away. Nobody even noticed that she had left. A few seconds later, Yuki popped her head in.

"Oh, there you are!" she called, waving at him. "Yori's gone to get food, we can eat on the way. We're going to show you around the school so you'll know where to go next time!"

Haru found himself smiling at her enthusiasm. "That'll be great. Thanks."

Yuki beamed at him, then gave Kiriyu a nudge. "You're coming with us, aren't you?"

Kiriyu rolled his eyes. "It's not like I have a choice, do I?"

Yuki laughed. "I'll take that as a yes, then. Come on, Yori said that she'll meet us at the field!" With that, she grabbed both Kiriyu's and Haru's sleeves and dragged them down the corridor.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! I'm so sorry that I'm late with this. School has been really busy these past few days. My exams are coming up, and I've been really working on my project work. It's really very consuming, and it's been enough to actually take me away from my stories for a few days, or have me too tired to even think of my stories.**

**However, now that it's the weekend, I have the time to finally upload this chapter, as well as write up the profiles of some Inheritance and School of Rock characters. Normally, I treat writing as a relaxation, which is why I have to write every day otherwise I'll go crazy. There are too many ideas in my head at the moment; I just have to write them out!**

**In this chapter, I've included descriptions of the Cross Academy school campus, and I really hope that this is correct. Is there a map of the campus anywhere, and if so, please let me know which volume so that I can buy it. I'll edit the chapter if I find that I've gone way over the mark.**

**Once again, thanks for all your support, you guys are like my fuel for writing, and I really have to thank you guys for taking the time to write a review. I really hope that you guys like this chapter, and please continue to review! Constructive criticism very much appreciated!**

**See you guys at my next update, and have a nice day!**

Chapter 6

Haru shook his head as he tried to keep up with both Yuki and Zero. It continually amazed him that people could actually have so much energy during the school day. Where did they get it from? A mystery . . . He thought that school days were supposed to sap people of energy rather than actually provide it. He himself felt like crawling under his covers and never coming out ever again. He felt the urge of a yawn and he covered his mouth to hide it.

At that moment, something was thrust at him and instinctively, his hands reach out to receive it. It was a brown paper bag, some parts of it dark with oil. He opened it and looked inside, and saw six sticks of fried tempura, three of which was prawn while the other three were sweet potato. He felt his mouth watering; it looked and smelt absolutely delicious.

He looked up and found Yori smiling at him. "Snacks for breaks are normally portable so we don't have to eat them in the canteen," she said. "We still have to collect it from there though. Oh, we're not allowed to eat in the school, we can only eat in the canteen or the field."

"Thanks," he replied. "It smells good."

"No problem," she said, and took a bite out of prawn tempura. "This is our school field, by the way."

Haru gazed around him as he too took a bite of prawn tempura. As usual, the food was delicious, and he found himself thinking that perhaps, he would like it here after all. Then, he remembered what happened in class and almost immediately, changed his mind. At least the food was still good, that was a plus in the favour of Cross Academy.

He found himself standing on a hill, overlooking a large space of land, on which groups of students were playing games. He recognized some of the games, like touch rugby, soccer or Frisbee, because he had played them back at Kaibara High as well, during games lessons as well as break. Soccer was his particular favourite, and he had been a mid-fielder in the soccer team at Kaibara High. He wondered if he could join the soccer team here, he had never really played against Cross Academy, but he had heard that the soccer team was one of the best in the Japanese High Schools, certainly better than Kaibara High. However, it would be very awkward if he had to play against Kaibara High . . .

The field was almost twice as big as the field in Kaibara High, yet he could see in the distance that there was a fence enclosing the field from the forest. On the school side of the fence, he could see a few bushes growing around the fence, and he decided that if he had the time, he would go and have a look at them, maybe he could find something interesting.

"Yori-chan, Sohma-senpai, come and join us," Yuki called to them. They found Yuki sitting cross-legged on the grass, with Zero by her side. Zero was gazing at the field; he did not bother to say anything.

"We only have half an hour left until lessons resume," Yori remarked. "I though you wanted to show Sohma-sempai around the school."

Haru glanced at his watch. It had been a present from Shigure, given to him three months after he was first warded at the mental hospital, though he had only been allowed to use it once he left the hospital compound. Fifteen minutes had already passed, which meant that break times were forty-five minutes long. That was fifteen minutes longer than the Kaibara High break time.

Yuki's voice broke though his train of thought. "Wow, time sure flies," she remarked cheerfully. "Let's go, then!" she jumped up and headed straight towards the main compound. Zero sighed, rolled his eyes, and followed.

Haru disposed both his and Yori's trash into the nearest dustbin before following them. "They sure are active on school days."

Yori rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh, they recuperate their energy by sleeping in class," she said. "They are student councilors, their duties are at night, so they don't really get much sleep." She sighed and shook her head.

"Why doesn't the chairman appoint more councilors then?" Haru asked.

Yori shrugged, but did not answer. Finally, just when Haru had given up on receiving and answer, she said simply, "It is not my place to say anything."

Haru gazed at her thoughtfully but just when he was about to ask her whether she was okay, they had already reached the entrance of the school compound, where Yuki and Zero were waiting impatiently for them.

For the rest of the break, the three of them showed Haru around the school. It turned out to be even bigger than Haru had originally thought, and he realized with a sinking feeling that with knowing his terrible sense of direction, it would be even harder to find his way around. He wished he had thought to bring a notebook and a pen along; at least he could have taken notes as they went along, but once again, he himself proved the fact that he never seemed to think.

The first floor of the main block contained the canteen and the bookshop. He had already been to the canteen, so they did not bother to explore the place. Haru noticed that most of the girls liked to sit in the canteen, though a few boys were there as well. He could hear them whispering to one another, and once in a while, a giggle or a laugh, but their voices were so soft that he could not hear an actual word. He did recognize a few girls from his class, they were sitting together in a cluster, but he could not find Aiko anywhere in the canteen. To his relief, none of them noticed him.

They visited the bookshop next. To his surprise, it was not just stationary being sold, but books as well. Back in Kaibara High, the bookshop had only sold stationary, along with notebooks and writing pads, but here, it was like an actual bookshop in all the shopping centers he had been to. It was as big as a classroom, and had separate compartments for stationary and books. Amazingly, they sold all kinds of books as well, from popular fiction, to classics, to nonfiction. Most of them were in Japanese, though he did catch sight of a few shelves with English books. There was even a manga section.

He looked around for the other three, and found them all buying the stationary they needed for their classes. "Might as well get them here, since we're here already," Yori told him. "Don't you have to buy stuff as well?"

Haru shrugged. "I left my notebook in class. Anyway, I don't have any money on me now."

"Oh," Yori replied. "We won't take too long then." It was then that she noticed the huge crowd at the cashier. "I hope."

"Take your time," Haru said. "I'll probably just look at the books," and with that, he wandered off to the manga section.

By the time they were done, another ten minutes had gone by. They took him up to the second floor next, where the school hall was located. It took up the entire level, and was two stories high. The stage took up one tenth of the hall, and was five steps high, with steps at the side of the stage. The lights were off at the moment, so he could not see the ceiling, but according to Yuki, when everything was lighted up and decorated, the hall looked very grand. "We use this place for school functions and dances."

"Dances?" Haru asked in shock. "We're expected to learn how to dance here?" What was this place, a finishing school? He remembered that the higher classed people came here, and high-class people were expected to dance. Something he did not even bother to try to like even though by right, he should. Anyway, he could not even if he wanted to

Yuki laughed at the expression on his face. "Don't worry," she assured him, "We get dancing lessons at least a month before the day of the dance." Haru nodded and looked up at the ceiling to disguise his agitation. Maybe he could go truant for both the lessons and the dance itself, there was no way he was going to allow himself to get hugged by a girl and get turned into a cow in front of everybody. There would be no Hatori to erase memories; he would have to live through the shame for the rest of his days in this school, though being allowed to remain was very unlikely. Akito would most certainly punish him; the mildest would probably be solitary confinement for at least half of his life. There would be no way he would be allowed to leave the compound after that.

Behind him, Zero turned to go up the stairs. "Dances are a huge waste of time."

Yori shrugged. "Both you and Haru-sempai would get along wonderfully then."

Yuki giggled. "Maybe they could dance together." Both girls burst out laughing at the imagined sight, and Haru turned red and speechless with embarrassment. He simply could not imagine dancing with another boy.

Zero flushed angrily. "That was the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my entire life!" he yelled. Haru almost expected two cat ears to pop out from his head. Where that thought came from, he had no idea.

The compound was six stories in total, and the rest of the levels were classrooms. Haru's classroom was on the forth level, the nearest to the staircase. They did not take him up to the classes because all of them knew where their classes were, and Haru was not sure whether he wanted to bump into any of his classmates.

From the main compound, there were walkways leading to two other buildings, and Haru was taken to the walkways on the right of the compound. These buildings, unlike the main compound, were only four stories high. This was where all the lecture rooms were located, as well as the IT resource rooms and computer terminals, the former on the first floor while the latter was on the second floor. Yuki told Haru that the moment he registered with the computer club in the school, he would be allowed to use the computer terminals for schoolwork or for research. Haru was not very IT savvy though, he could not work a computer to save his life, so he told the others that he much preferred the library.

"We all get computer lessons anyway," Yori assured him. "I'm much better now as compared to the first time I came to this school. I couldn't even locate the switch to turn the computer on, though at least now I can."

"I still can't," muttered Zero sulkily to himself. "All the buttons all look the same." Haru noticed Yuki trying to hide a giggle.

The third floor held the art studios. Haru could smell the paint and crayons before he even turned the corner of the staircase. He peered into the studios and found students in aprons hard at work, seated on stools and painting on easels held upright by wooden stands. There was music playing in the background, as well as bags of tempura, some finished, others half eaten, scattered around the room. There was not much conversation; everybody was too busy concentrating on his or her work.

"The art teachers are generally less strict at enforcing the no-eating in school compound rule," Yori remarked. "That's probably why the art teachers are favourites among the students. Look, they even let us listen to music in class."

"It also helps that most of us love art," Yuki added. "Are you good at art?" she asked Haru.

Haru shrugged. "Depends on what you mean by good. At least I manage to pass." True, he liked drawing and reading manga, but the problem was that he could not use that in art class. He could never produce what the teachers wanted; there was always something wrong with his work. Too emotionless, too emotional, too abstract, too simple, too dark. At least they gave him marks for bothering to try, and at least he was somewhat able to follow the guidelines. That was probably why he was able to pass in the first place.

The forth floor held all the science labs. The whole place stank of ammonia and various other solutions all mixed together, and he had to resist the urge to hold his nose. The place was completely empty, the windows were shut, the lights were off, and the doors were locked; yet the smell still came out strongly. "Let's go before we faint," Yori muttered and headed down the stairs again. The others immediately followed her.

Next, they took Haru to the other building, cutting across the canteen and the left walkway to get there. The first and second levels held the rooms designated to the different clubs in the school. The first floor contained all the sports teams. As they walked pass, Haru could see the signs on the doors, made of gold plates, each stating what the room was for. Soccer team, basketball team, dodge ball team, horseback team, hockey team, baseball team, all were engraved on the gold plates and nailed at eye level on each of the doors. Some of them were open, and Haru peered inside some of them, and saw students of both sexes loitering around, discussing techniques. Some were in uniform, while others were in their jerseys. There were sports supplies as well, either neatly stored on shelves or scattered all over the floor.

The second floor contained the different clubs. They too had the names of the clubs on gold plating nailed at the door. Haru barely glanced at the names of the clubs, he preferred to gaze inside the rooms and guess what the clubs were, since some of the doors were also open. He saw a few students building a robot in one room, another room held a whole shelf of comics and a few students sketching on notebooks.

The third and forth floor held the school library. The moment they stepped into the library, Haru could only stare in wonder. The library was huge, with hundreds of shelves all stacked with books. There was a musty papery smell in the air. There was a staircase leading up to the next floor as well, Yori mentioned that it was a favourite with pupils who wanted to study, since the place had huge windows and as a result, there was a constant breeze. Haru remembered that he was supposed to register at the library counter so that he could start borrowing books, so he told the others about it and they accompanied him to the librarian's counter.

The librarian was a small plump woman with grey streaks of hair tied into a bun, dressed in the typical blouse and skirt of the female teachers here. She seemed quite friendly, and even smiled at Haru when he told her that he wanted to register for an account. She took Haru's card, typed for a few seconds at her computer, before handing it back. "There, you're all set," she told him. "You can start borrowing books as soon as you like, though you can only borrow up to four books, and you have to return them in two weeks time. Fines would be ten cents a day after overdue date."

"Thanks," Haru replied. He placed his card in his pants pocket and was just about to rejoin the others when he saw Aiko. She was standing at one of the shelves, fully engrossed in a book. He was just about to raise his hand to wave, but realised that she would probably not notice him. She seemed to be alone though; he did not see anybody else with her. He wondered if he should say something, but decided not to after all, since like most readers, she would probably throw a fit at being interrupted. He could not help smirking when he thought of Kyo's reaction whenever he was interrupted during his reading, he would snarl, hiss something and storm off. It was just too cute.

At that moment, the bell rang. Out of the corner of his eye, Haru spied Aiko replacing the book back on the shelf and stalking out of the library, hugging her notebook to her chest. She did not look up at all, instead choosing to look at her feet as she walked. Haru watched as she disappeared down the stairs. At that moment, he felt a tug on his arm. "Are you okay?" he heard Yori ask. "You were staring into space just now."

Haru quickly shook his head. "It's alright," he replied. He looked up and saw that they were now standing outside his classroom. "I better go in then," he said.

"We'll meet you later for lunch, then!" Yuki told him. "We still haven't shown you everything yet. See you later!" She waved at him, and then rushed towards her own class. Yori and Zero followed her, but Yori turned and gave him a slight wave before disappearing into the crowd. He suddenly remembered that he forgot to buy a pen at the bookshop, now he would have to borrow from Aiko again.

He smacked his hand against his own head and groaned in frustration at his own stupidity. Then, he turned and went back into class. He only hoped that Aiko would still be willing to lend him her pen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys! I'm so sorry I haven't been updating this story! I haven't given up on it though, I just had this really big mental block and as a result, I had no incentive to write. I'm glad that's over now, because now I can start writing again! Unfortunately, I had originally planned to write during my holidays but due to my mental block, it was just about impossible. I just wasted one whole month . . . head-desk and school is going to start in a weeks time, so I won't have much time left. Oh well, now that school is starting next week, I daresay there would be less mental block for me to slog through!**

**Thanks for all your reviews guys, you really made my day receiving them! I'm really honoured that you like this story so far, and I really appreciate the amount of time you spent actually reading and reviewing! You guys are the best!**

**Anyway, this is my latest chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy it! I'm afraid that I am not up to par, so please feel free to let me know where I have gone wrong, and what I can do about it. Thanks a lot, I really appreciated it, because I've always felt that improvement is a good thing, and I would love to improve on my writing.**

**Thank you for taking your time to read this, and have a nice day!**

Chapter 7

It was three days later that Haru realised that he was starting to get used to the system. He had taken a lot longer to get used to the system in the mental hospital that he had stayed in for the past six months, at least two weeks in fact before he started to even remotely feel like himself. It had also taken him two days to get used to the system in Kaibara High, so maybe it meant that he was starting to get back to normal, or rather, as normal as he could be with his bipolar disorder.

That day, he had been sitting at his usual place, at the stand nearest to the window at the back of the room, an area in which he had been used to occupying in the different schools he had attended. The art teacher, a rather plumpish middle-aged man whose name he had yet to figure out, had told them to begin work, and he had automatically stood up, grabbed his cup, and went straight to the tap at the centre of the back wall in order to fill it. It was only when he sat back down again that he realised what he had done, and what this implied. It made him want to beam at the entire class, but instead, he forced himself to nonchalantly pick up his paintbrush and begin work.

After an entire day in class, it had been a relief to be on one's feet, because the art room was in a different block from the classroom. In Kaibara High, Momiji had to keep watching him to make sure that he did not wander off. This time round, it had been Nakamura Aiko who grabbed his sleeve and dragged him in the direction where they were supposed to go. Luckily, none of the other classmates noticed.

One thing which did unnerve him though, was the fact that he was not in constant contact with his family members. He had been so used taking the train back to the Sohma compound after school ended with either Momiji or Kyo, the latter having been forced back to the Sohma compound during his third year.i He had not been allowed to go back home alone on Hatori's orders, due to his rather notorious sense of direction.

However, when enclosed in his room in the male dormitories of Cross Academy, he could not help feeling that he was completely alone. Hatori had given him a hand phone with the numbers of all his closest cousins so he could call them anytime he wanted to, but the fact was that physically, they were not there with him. They were all the way at the other end of Tokyo, and he did not want to call them because he was afraid that they would end up thinking him dependant and unable to stand on his own two feet, especially since he was supposed to be eighteen years of age, and practically an adult.

Thankfully, his thoughts were otherwise occupied during the day. Yuki Cross would always be waiting outside the classroom door when he left for break and the moment she saw him, she would beam, wave and drag him off to sit with her friends. It had been during their second break together that Yuki had tried to fling her arms around him, and he had instinctively scurried to the end of the field. They finally managed to coax him back to sit with them after promising that they would not try to hug him. They had been quiet after that, but Yori quickly steered the conversation into something else that Haru barely remembered and things seemed to resume their normality.

Yuki still came to fetch him from class, and he would still hang out with both Yori and Kiriyu. Yori was always very friendly with him, and even Kiriyu seemed to be getting used to his presence though the latter simply nodded a greeting and rarely spoke to him after that.

Besides the usual break times, they would join him in the library after school ended and they would do all their homework together. Kiriyu seemed the smartest; he always ended up helping Yuki with her mathematics. Yori never needed to ask for help though sometimes, he did see her frowning over her work. Kiriyu did ask Haru a few questions on history and to his surprise; he seemed to be able to understand what the question was asking for and to explain it coherently to Kiriyu, who then explain it to Yuki. Haru felt quite contented; it was not every day that he got to feel smart.

However, after dinner, both Yuki and Kiriyu would disappear of to do their duties because they were the student councillors of the school. He would normally be left to his own devices, and he would then retreat to his own room to sketch, read, or study, though the latter was quite rare. At least it stopped him from thinking too much.

Another friend he seemed to have made was Nakamura Aiko, a girl in the same class as him. Aiko sat next to him in class and when his pen ran out of ink on the second day of school, she had muttered something under her breath and lent him her pen again. When he thanked her, she had this rather small smile on her face. Perhaps, she did not mind him as much as he felt she did.

As it turned out, both of them rarely talked in class. Aiko always had her textbooks on her table and every time Haru glanced around the room, rather frequently, he had to admit to himself, he would spot her either staring intently at the board or copying down notes, sometimes both at once. Every time a teacher called on her she could give the answers that the teachers wanted, the moment she opened her mouth. He noticed that the other students were either sleeping, or fidgeting around. Some would even be scribbling notes, which was quite obvious because they were bent, but not over, their desks.

Once, he had made the mistake of trying to ask her to explain something a teacher was saying and she gave him such a furious glare that he apologised quickly and turned back to his own notes.

At that moment, the bell rang, almost causing Haru to jump out of his skin. He stood up and stretched, before picking up his cup, palette and paintbrushes and headed to the sink to wash off the paint. Around him, he could hear the sounds of chairs scrapping and papers flapping as well as smell the acyclic paint fumes, which made him want to vomit. He had not even noticed the stench before.

As he moved back to his own seat, he saw the art teacher looking over his work. He quickly moved forward until he was standing right next to Aiko's easel, not too near the teacher. He glanced back at Aiko, who simply gave a long suffering sigh, glared at her piece of work and began keeping her things.

Haru shook his head and was just about to say something when the teacher cleared his throat. "What is this?" he asked Haru with a raised eyebrow.

Haru flushed involuntarily. "Erm . . ." he began. They had just started on drawing still-lives, and he had listened attentively to the teacher yesterday as he talked about the different techniques involved in attempting such a piece, and made sure that he followed those instructions which he had actually bothered to write down in his notebook. At least his fruits were in shape, and in colour, according to the fruits basket right at the centre of the room. He had even managed to get the shading right.

The teacher sighed and tapped the painting with the hard end of the paintbrush that he was holding. "Good technique, but no emotion," he told Haru, before walking to the front of the room. Haru noticed that all the pupils were leaving their paintings on their stands, so he left his there as well, shoving everything else into his sling bag and slipping it over his shoulder. The teacher dismissed the class and everybody filed out, making such a racket that he was sure that the teachers would come screaming at them.

Haru was lost in his thoughts as he walked. Not enough emotion, the teacher said. What was it going to take to finally be able to do well for art? At the rate he was going, he was never going to do well for art. Already at Kaibara High, teachers found his work too disturbing, because he had always treated art as a form of self-expression. And now, when he held back, his work was found to be too emotionless. Why did art teachers have to be so hard to please?

At that moment, he heard raucous laughter and from it, a masculine voice call, "Sohma, where the hell do you think you are going?" Haru spun around and realised that he had been so lost in his thoughts that he had actually walked pass the stairs they were supposed to go down to get to their classroom, and all his classmates were standing at the stairs, staring at him.

"Oh," Haru replied, flushing with mortification when he heard the sniggers. He quickly retraced his steps and managed to catch up just when they were going down the stairs.

About halfway down, the boy spoke again. "We had art yesterday as well and he still can't remember how to go back to class from the art room." Haru flushed with anger and spun around to glare at the boy. "Oops, he heard," the boy said with a laugh.

Almost immediately, everyone stopped and turned to stare at the two boys. There was an almost breathless silence as the other students all waited eagerly to see what was going to happen next.

The boy was significantly shorter than Haru, one whole head shorter in fact, but he was more muscular. As a result, the uniform seemed to be a better fit on him. Haru had seen him playing soccer in the school's official jersey a day ago during break time, and he had seen him shoot a goal right from the middle of the field. Like all the boys in class, he wore the uniform correctly, with his sandy brown hair gelled back neatly in a side parting. Haru wondered whether the boy would be every bit as neat if he had been thrown around a few times with a few punches and kicks for good measure.

Unfortunately, that line of thought made Black all the more eager to jump out, due to the fact that he had not taken his pills. He had not been taking his pills ever since his last month in the mental hospital and his doctor had told him to take them only when necessary. Already he could hear the blood drumming in his ears, and his hands curled into fists by his side. He knew if he had taken his pills that morning, he would still be in able to remain calm, and think of what to say that would enable him to win such a confrontation. It was a better alternative to remaining silent and seething while trying to concentrate on holding Black back.

The boy laughed scornfully and said to his friends, "Look, he can't even speak for himself! Isn't he supposed to be a year older than us? No wonder he's a repeat student!" At his words, half the students in the class sniggered. Aiko was not smiling; she had her arms crossed and was glaring at the boy.

Haru's vision took a drastic tint of red. He half wanted it to happen, to give the boy a taste of his own medicine. Yet, he knew that if he demonstrated such behaviour, there was a high chance that he would get kicked out of this school as well. He might as well be dead after that.

Still, he made a valiant effort to get Black under control. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists even harder, until he felt the strain in his entire body. The boy said something, but the drumming in his ears made it harder for him to hear anything. He could only guess what the boy was saying, and from the scorn in his voice, he knew that what he said could not be good.

Just when all hell was about to break lose, he heard shouting. It sounded like a combination of Yuki and Kiriyu, and Aiko, and for a second, he felt a sharp disappointment from Black Haru; and then Black began to recede. The drumming in his ears and the tension in his body lessened, which was then followed by an overwhelming tiredness. He forced his eyes open and looked up to see Yuki, Kiriyu, Yori and Aiko staring at him, concern all over their features. No one else was there. Yuki placed a hand on Haru's sleeve and asked, "Are you all right?"

Haru felt so tired, he could hardly speak, but he managed to force himself to give a nod in reply. "I still think he should rest," Yori spoke up. "He looks as if he's about to collapse at any minute."

"I'll take him to the sickroom then," Aiko said. She took Haru by the elbow and led him in the direction of the sickroom. Haru wanted to protest; he wanted to go back to class and show that he was not scared of his classmates; he needed some sort of control after showing them a major weakness of himself that they were sure to exploit. Yet, he felt dizzy as well as a massive headache, and his vision was unfocused. The fact that he felt like collapsing right then and there, made him decide to keep his mouth shut and just follow Aiko.

It was just when they reached the sickroom that Aiko spoke. "You know, I don't think Boyce and his friends are going to keep quiet about this. It would be better if you avoided him from now onwards, if you feel that you cannot contain yourself around him."

Haru instinctively opened his mouth to insist that he was not scared of Boyce and that it would be cowardly of him to just accept defeat like this. Yet, when he tried to speak, he found that he did not have the energy to force his words out. He would remain quiet, for now at least.

Luckily for Haru, there was no one in the sick room, when he stumbled inside. The curtains were drawn, and the room was in darkness. He could barely see anything inside the room. It smelt like the mental hospital and it made him feel like throwing up. "Okay," he finally managed to mutter.

Aiko nodded. "Go in and rest. I'll let the teacher know that you're ill. Anyway, it's the last period of the day, so you're free to do whatever you want after you rest, as long as you make sure you leave only after the bell rings." She glanced at her watch. "I better go. I'm already five minutes late."

Haru nodded again. "Thanks," he said. Aiko gave him another smile and left. He practically collapsed into the first chair he saw, closed his eyes, and spiralled into a darkness that seemed oh so welcoming.

iMentioned in "Past and Present"


End file.
